Phones aren’t really phones anymore. They are computers – and like anything sitting on your desktop, they are a potential route into your company data. What systems do you have in place to limit the risk?The latest Cyber Security Breaches Survey from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport estimates that half of all UK businesses have suffered from some sort of cybersecurity breach in the past year, based on a survey of 1,500 businesses. Fraudulent emails, viruses and malware were all a threat, with the average cost of a breach reaching £20,000. So you should have a system in place to check, for example, that:

• staff have a passcode lock (and not 1234 or 0000!) or fingerprint security installed
• device data is encrypted (something which most modern handsets can do)
• remote data wiping is set up, so that if a handset is lost or stolen it can be rendered harmless
• an emergency contact is set up on the setup or login screen, so if the device is found by an honest person then they can contact you!
• staff are trained to recognise phishing emails and discouraged from opening attachments from untrusted sources
• Android devices have anti-virus/malware apps installed
• staff understand that public wifi is usually insecure and therefore should not be used.

There are lots more things to think about. You may want to consider MDM (mobile device management) so that you can control the settings across all your company handsets at the touch of a button. Give us a call to discuss MDM or any other aspect of phone security.